Almost everywhere you look, this 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 has gotten some custom touches, including the outside, inside, and especially in the performance department. I’m pretty confident the seller is correct when he says this Chevy is a head-turner, and while the original intent was to race this one on the tracks, it’s now been turned into a street-legal muscle car. This cool Z is currently wreaking havoc on the roads in Marion, Massachusetts, and can be found here on Craigslist. The owner says $60k has been invested, making the asking price of $15,500 sound reasonable. Mitchell G., thanks for your great tip here!
The seller says the factory motor has been swapped in favor of a 396, which is claimed to be out of a ’68 Chevelle. Surprisingly, that’s all the detail we get about the big block, other than it’s shiny under the hood, and the engine bay is in near-show condition. There are also no specifics about the transmission, besides being an automatic, and as eye-catching as that narrowed rear-end is, nothing is mentioned about the gears. This one sure seems like a capable performer, but it’d be nice to know a bit more about the mechanical components.
We aren’t provided any background information regarding the exterior, or what it looked like before that bright red finish was applied. However, if body repairs were performed, it appears to have been high-quality work. The sheet metal seems straight and the panel fit is decent, even the sometimes problematic front spoiler under the grille. It’s good to see that there are T-Tops on the roof, plus the rear window louvers are a fun touch from a mostly bygone era.
The dash has been reworked to incorporate an array of aftermarket gauges, with the driver’s bucket looking right at home for this environment. However, there is no rear seat, as wheel tubs now reside where passengers once would have. If you’ve ever ridden in the back of a second-generation F-Body, it’s not very comfortable anyway, so no big loss there. The seller sounds confident that the first person to see this one will buy it, but after almost a month on the market, the Chevy still hasn’t found a taker. What are your thoughts regarding the mods on this 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, and is the asking price of $15.5k fair for what you’re getting here?
This car would have to sell to a certain kind of person, which I am not one of. Looks cool and I hope it has some Van Halen in the cassette player.
Gee, thanks now I gotta go to YouTube and listen to “Unchained” or it’ll be in my head all day, preciate it lol, jk
There is a reason it hasn’t sold. The build quality isn’t particularly good and that style hasn’t been popular for decades. You can tell by certain decisions it was never intended as a race car and it shows, it would get bounced at tech within 30 seconds. The seller has his work cut out for himself if he wants to find a buyer close to his asking price.
Steve R
So why would this car fail tech immediatly? I have raced in the past and I don’t see much wrong this car for the money,
The most obvious is the battery location. Because it has been moved from under the hood you will need a master kill switch. You also will need to vent it to the outside. I doubt it will run a 10.99 or faster so a cage isn’t required. This is a street car and should be enjoyed on the street, maybe Friday night run what you brung drags. Oh battery must be secured and nhra has certain requirements.
Scott Manning, I work tech at the local track for weekend bracket races and raced for years. There is no way I’d ever sign my name to its tech card.
As mentioned by K, the battery is instant fail, you can almost guarantee there is no separation between the fuel cell and drivers compartment. It just reeks of shoddy work, I’m sure if I had a minute to walk around the car I’d find several other reasons, but why bother when you have a line of 30 cars waiting.
Steve R
Every hot rod magazine had one like this in the 1980s.
I for one love the prostreet look and if I didn’t already have a big block 80 camaro I would check this one out. The 80 camaro body style grows on you. 632 is in the near future for my camaro.
Nobody would or could use this on any track, but I think it’s well worth the ask if one seeks the pro street Camaro. Yes, you’ll need to do afew changes, but it looks to be a good start. 40 year old t-tops/seals will be problematic.